A/N: Hi! I don't know what to say exactly, so have a chapter.

Chapter 20

(Percy POV)

Contrary to Hestia's beliefs, I didn't figure out how to flash around. I gave up after seventy or so tries, and just started walking towards my new palace. I don't even know how the gods managed to create a palace so fast, but it was there.

I got bored and started to jog at a decent pace along the streets of Olympus. Up here, there weren't many civilians out and about, so I didn't see anyone.

Finally, I made it to my new home. It was large, a bit too large for my taste.

I'd seen some of the other gods' palaces before, and they generally reflected traits of the gods themselves. Apollo's was basically all golden and shined brightly, and Hestia's was cozy with a fireplace and extremely comfortable beds in the guest rooms. (Believe me. I know from experience.)

Mine was made of silver, decorated with intertwining fire and water that was actually burning and cycling around. The yard featured a few bushes and fountains here and there. The whole thing was about as tall as a three story building. Looking at it, I wasn't sure what it was supposed to represent. The reference to fire and water was obvious, but I couldn't decide what popped out the most about it. I didn't even know what my domains were now that I was an Olympian.

Nevertheless, I headed inside.

It was actually sparsely decorated, the walls were coated with a light blue wallpaper with no designs, the furniture consisted of wooden chairs and tables, and a few potted plants sat in corners here and there. All in all, it was pretty nice. It wouldn't be hard to put my own touch on things if I ever decided to.

What I wanted to do now, though, was sleep. Yeah, I know. I'm a god, so I shouldn't need sleep, right? Well, I'm fairly certain that the gods do sleep at night, you know. If they didn't, then why do they all have beds in their palaces?

I searched for the bedroom, and I found my way to a staircase. Heading up to the second floor, I was glad to find no third floor above me. A three story building is way too big for just one person.

On the landing, there were a few doors, each with a bronze plaque printed on them. One read 'guest room.' Another said 'bathroom,' and a third said 'Percy's Room.' I don't know how Zeus managed to stick my name on a plaque, attack it to a door, stick the door in a giant palace, and transport the whole thing here with little notice, but the detail was nice.

I pushed the door open and headed inside. Just like the rest of the house, there was nothing special. The room was dominated by a king-sized bed with light green sheets decorated with fish. The furniture was the same style as the rest of the house, and a lava lamp sat on the nightstand. There was a dresser and a closet, along with a second doorway leading into what I presumed to be my private bathroom.

"No TV?" I muttered. That's one thing that I would have to add. But for now, I wanted to rest. Even though the click on the opposite wall said it was only 7 at night, I decided I would just sleep anyways. It had been a long day.

I woke up the next morning. Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I sat up in bed. My eyes rested on the clock, which currently said 10 AM.

"What?" I exclaimed. "I slept for thirteen hours? Talk about a new record," I continued.

I opened pulled open the closet and selected a fresh set of clothes before changing into them.

Once I was ready, I headed downstairs. On the kitchen table, there was a note addressed to me in fancy lettering.

To Perseus Jackson,

The demigods from Poseidon's army have been sent back to their respective camps and are awaiting judgement. A few special cases have been made, however. For example, Matt and Annabeth have been transported to a holding cell on Olympus awaiting trial.

Also, there will be a council meeting today at noon.

Have a nice day,

Zeus

Hermes Delivery Service: Now Featuring Christmas Themed Letter Designs! Buy one now!

I digested the information quickly. I had to head over to the Olympian hall by noon. That meant I'd better eat breakfast. Opening a cupboard in the kitchen, I found a pack of cereal. Pouring myself a bowl, I grabbed a spoon and sat down.

Just as I was about to insert my first spoonful into my mouth, I heard a knock in the door.

Sighing, I decided to answer it.

To my surprise, Hestia was standing there.

"Hi," she said a little shyly.

I grinned and opened the door wider, allowing her to come in.

"I was just eating breakfast," I told her. Her eyes traveled to the lonely bowl of cereal sitting in the table.

"Well, you know that you can eat ambrosia and have nectar to drink whenever you want, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just prefer regular food," I said. "I guess I'm just not used to being a god."

Hestia nodded slowly before glancing around.

"So, what brings you here?" I asked her.

"I just wanted to check in and say hello," she smiled at me. "I also wanted to make sure you didn't sleep past the council meeting," she added with a smirk.

"Hey!" I added, playfully shoving her lightly. She laughed.

"And I never did figure out how to teleport myself around like you guys do," I added.

Hestia frowned. "Well, then how did you get over here? Don't tell me you walked," she warned.

"I didn't walk." Hestia's face brightened. "I ran," I added, starting to smile.

"But that's nine miles!" Hestia exclaimed. "Why didn't you come find me?"

"How do you suppose I would do that? Teleport?" I countered.

Hestia was about to say something but then she realized I was right. Then she frowned. "Wow, you have a lot to learn," she muttered.

"And you have a lot to teach me," I smirked. In response I recieved a punch to the shoulder.

"Ow," I muttered. "What was that for?" Hestia crossed her arms and just looked at me. Sighing, I continued eating my cereal.

Crunch.

"You want anything?" I asked her.

"I can make anything that I want, Percy," she said while rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" I asked.

"Be quiet, finish eating, and then I'll try and teach you how to teleport," she scolded.

"Yes, ma'am," I muttered before taking another bite. I almost missed my mouth because Hestia punched me in the arm again.

"You know what, let's just go outside," I finally concluded, tossing my half-eaten bowl of cereal in the sink.

"Come on," Hestia said impatiently, grabbing my hand and practically dragging me out the door. She stopped at the front yard, and quickly let go of my hand and looked away.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, turning back to me.

She smiled a little before starting the lesson. "It's simple, really. All you have to do is envision the place you want to go. Feel like you are really there. What it smells like, what you hear in the area, all those are important. Basically, imagine yourself at the new place, and hopefully you'll get there."

"So I need to have been to the destination before in order to get there?" I asked.

"No, not really. It helps when you're just starting, though. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to just think 'oh, I want to get to Leo's machine shop,' and you'll get there no problem."

"Leo has a machine shop?" I asked.

Hestia looked at me curiously. "You really didn't know? He started it with Calypso. You know her, right?" she said.

"Yeah."

"Anyways, why don't you try it?" Hestia prompted.

"Okay, so I'll just imagine myself inside my palace?"

Hestia nodded.

"Okay, here goes," I said before concentrating really hard. I imagined the pale blue walls of the kitchen, the slightly musty smell to it. I imagined the wooden table, and the sink with my half-eaten bowl of cereal in it.

After a few seconds, I felt myself get whisked away. Then I found myself falling.

(Hestia POV)

When I went to see Percy this morning, he was eating cereal. I still don't understand why he would eat cereal over ambrosia and nectar. They literally taste like your favorite food! I knew that Percy would taste his mom's chocolate chip cookies. That reminded me. I would have to pay his mother a visit and let her know that Percy was okay, since Percy hadn't thought about doing it himself yet.

I started to get impatient and irritable with him, until he finally just gave up and decided to learn to teleport around.

So I grabbed him and pulled him out the door.

Once we got to the middle of the yard, I realized that I was holding his hand. I felt myself starting to blush at the realization, so I let go and turned away so Percy wouldn't see. Lucky for me, he's an idiot when it comes to romance, so he'll never figure out that I like him in that way.

Wait. I like him? When did that happen?

Oh gods . . .

"What?" Percy asked me. Great, the one person who I really need to talk to right now...

"Nothing," I said out loud before fighting down the blush and turning back to him. I went for a smile, and then explained to him what he needed to do in order to teleport around.

Finally, he nodded his head and started concentrating. I saw him dissapear, so I turned and started walking back towards his front door, as he was aiming for his kitchen area. Then, I heard a faint yelling from the sky that seemed to be getting louder. I looked up just in time to see Percy fall from the sky and crash land into a shrub.

I ran over to him, laughing but also slightly worried. Shrubs do hurt.

"Umm, Percy? Are you okay?" I called out to him, who was wrapped inside a blanket of leaves face down.

He shifted slightly. "More or less," he said.

"Why must you keep getting yourself hurt," I groaned while pulling him out of the bush.

"Hey, you're the one who I had to save from Poseidon," he argued.

"And I'm the one who saved you from Poseidon in the throne room, then practically carried you around everywhere for the next few hours," I smirked at him.

"Ahh, drat. You're right," he sighed. I smiled at him.

"I'm usually right, except for when I'm wrong," I added. Then I laughed at his look of confusion.

"What?" He asked, puzzled.

"Nevermind," I said. "Now come over here and try again, and this time don't drop yourself off a few hundred feet off the ground," I scolded.

I watched with amusement as he walked back towards the center of the garden with resignation. He turned and frowned at me.

"You're laughing at me," he complained. "I can't concentrate if you're laughing at me!"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Ummm, I don't know! Because you're you, I guess, and it feels awkward."

Smiling, I walked over to him.

"What do you mean I'm me? Of course I'm me, silly!" I teased him.

Percy turned around and said something along the lines of "ummblehg."

"Just ignore me," I told him. "And try again."

Sighing, he turned around and frowned in concentration before disappearing once more. I heard a crash inside the house and teleported myself inside, only find Percy sprawled on the floor with three pots rattling around near him.

"What did you do this time?" I asked, helping him up.

"I kinda teleported inside a cabinet full of pots and pans, so I had to find some way to get out, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "So of course you had to chose 'let's just hop out and fall on the floor dumping a few pots on the ground here and there?'"

Percy sighed. "I hate hindsight sometimes," he muttered.

I chuckled. "Don't we all."

Percy looked at his wall clock. It was 11:45, almost time for the meeting.

"Shouldn't we leave soon?"

"Yes," I told him. "Why don't you try and teleport yourself to the throne room?" I asked him.

He groaned, but frowned in concentration. As soon as he was gone, I teleported myself to the center of the hall.

Literally as soon as I got there I heard a crunch as something slammed into the marble behind me.

Whirling around, I found Percy eagle-spread on the ground.

"Are you trying to make my job difficult?" I complained while rolling him over.

Percy grinned before answering. "Not on purpose, no."

That puzzled me. "So you can accidentally try to make me work more?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "I don't do logistics, unless it's battle related."

Ugg, the idiot. But that just makes him so much more likable!

Oh gods, Aphrodite, stop messing with my mind!

Despite my thoughts, I extended a hand and pulled him up. We were early by ten minutes or so, and no one else was even here yet.

"So are you going to tell me how to change my size yet?" he asked, walking over to his reenlarged throne and climbing onto the seat.

"It's like I said before," I told him. "Imagine yourself bigger. I guess try to feel the throne like a normal chair that you can lean back on instead of an oversized hunk of metal."

I watched as he glowed briefly before emerging larger, fidgeting in his throne. Standing at the base, I looked up at him.

"Good job, you figured it out!" I told him, smiling.

"I don't see how you find these things comfortable," he told me. What does he mean, not comfortable? My own throne is perfect for me, bathed in fire all the time. It's nice to sit on, better than a cushioned chair.

"I don't see how you don't find it comfortable, but no matter."

Just then, Zeus flashed in with a rumble of thunder.

"Hey Hestia," he said. I smiled and waved. "Hello, Percy," he added.

I glanced over at Percy while he nodded back from his throne.

"I see you've finally managed to fit yourself into your throne," he chuckled.

Percy shook his head with embarrassment. "Yeah. Hestia taught me how to do it correctly," he mumbled.

I smiled again, before teleporting into my own throne on the other side of the room.

Generally, I usually don't take part in the council meetings except to break up arguments, so I sit at the end of the line farthest away from Zeus, across from Hades. Or rather, I used to be across from Hades, but now, Percy sat opposite of me.

On the male side, everyone had shifted down by one, filling the empty space where Poseidon's throne used to be, making room for Percy to be plopped down on the end.

Speaking of which, he looked nervous.

"Hey, don't worry. The meeting wil go fine. Supposedly. You'll eventually get used to them," I told him.

Zeus laughed from his throne. "You will definitely have to get used to them," he commented.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Like, how do these things work?" he questioned.

"You'll get the hang of it," I reassured him.

"That's basically what you said about teleporting around," he muttered. "But okay. So now, we wait?"

Zeus laughed again. "What do you think we're doing now?"

Percy bowed his head in embarrassment for the billionth time today. "Oh, right," he said in his muttering-so-as-not-to-draw-attention-to-myself voice.

We waited for the rest of the gods to find their seats. Unlike Percy, they just appeared directly in their thrones. Percy gazed in amazement.

He mouthed at me. How do you guys do that?

I just shrugged and smirked at him.

Finally, everyone settled into their thrones, and Zeus called the council to order.

"Greetings!" he boomed. "This council meeting has been scheduled to address some of the more, ahh, pressing issues that we face as a result of the conflict."

I saw Athena and Artemis both roll their eyes, and I couldn't resist a smile.

Percy looked at me, confused. I just shook my head and waved it off with a small hand gesture.

I tuned back into Zeus's little speech. "... the first thing to do is to introduce our new fourteenth Olympian."

All eyes instantly swiveled to Percy, who was now looking slightly uncomfortable at the attention.

He slowly raised his hand, waved, and hesitantly added a "Hi?"

I put my face in my hands. "What?" he asked indignantly.

"Oh, never mind," I muttered. Then I turned to Zeus. "Carry on."

"Right," Zeus said, looking at me curiously. "So, as you can probably tell, Percy Jackson will be joining the council as our fourteenth Olympian. It took a while, but I think I've finally decided on his domains." At this, everyone paused. I subconsciously switched into my 'serious' mode, as opposed to my 'non-serious' mode.

"So your first domain will be Heros. This basically let's you hop down to the surface whenever you want, so you won't be affected by the ancient laws as much." Percy nodded and smiled.

"Another one of your domains is Unity, or teamwork, or whatever you want to call it. You're going to be responsible for keeping the council together and relatively argument free." Percy again nodded, but looked a little surprised. He looked at me for reassurance, so I sent him a smile and a look that told him 'we'll discuss this later.'

"Lastly, you will be replacing Poseidon as god of the sea!" Zeus pronounced.

Both me and Percy winced at the mention of Poseidon.

Percy shook his head and mumbled, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do the last one."

Apollo seemed to pick up on his fowl mood. "Hey Perce, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing, unless you count having to take control of the domain of my own father, who, by the way, just happened to be evil and almost killed me and my best friends," he commented sarcastically, but sending a meaningful glance my way, as if to say By best friends, I mean you.

I was glad that he thought of me as one of his best friends, I'll admit.

Zeus, meanwhile, was looking a little flustered.

"Well, we need a replacement," at this Percy winced again. "And you seem like the best person for the job."

Percy shook his head again. "I'm sorry, I really can't. It would be . . ." Percy struggled to find a word.

"He's trying to say it would be too hard for him to take over something that directly reminds him of, well, you know," I spoke.

Percy looked at me gratefully.

Zeus slowly nodded his head. "Oh, alright. But then, who would take the domain?"

"You and Hades could share it," Percy prompted. Zeus looked shocked, and Hades looked surprised at being mentioned in the conversation.

"But sharing-" Zeus started.

"Sharing is caring," Percy said, and I almost slapped my forehead in response to his idiocy. Then Percy reconsidered his statement. "Or at least, that's what I learned in preschool."

"Hrmm," Zeus grunted.

"Brother, how bad could it be?" Hades asked, slightly disgruntled.

"But what would sharing domains be like?" Zeus asked, throwing the question into the air.

"Theoretically, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Both of you would receive the same increase in power, and both of you would gain water-related abilities. Neither of you would be as powerful as you could be if only you got the domain, but it seems to have worked fine with with all of the new minor gods and goddesses," Athena lectured.

"Please?" Percy pleaded. (A/N: Accidental alliteration :-/)

Zeus frowned, clearly in the decision making process, before finally coming to a conclusion.

"All right, Perseus." I registered the use of Percy's full name. "I will share the domain with Hades, if he agrees."

Hades nodded happily. "Oh, very much so, yes."

"Then that's settled. I will call the fates over after the conclusion of this meeting. But for now, that brings us to the trials of Matt and Annabeth."

Percy's eyes widened. Clearly, he had not been expecting this. I caught his eye, and tried to smile but found I couldn't. To be honest, I hated these people. Very much.

A/N: So that's a chapter. I'm still a little on the fence about it, but writing from Hestia's point of view was hard!

Anyways, thanks for reading. Next chapter will be the trials, and maybe something about Percy's mom.